Negotiation Insights
A resource of quick tips and analysis of highly effective, real life negotiation strategies.
In Focus: Connecting price to value
24-Apr-2025
In sales, an important success factor is the ability to shift the focus from price to value. By fostering a collaborative and value-centred approach, skilled negotiators can move from a price sensitive focus into meaningful discussions about impact and outcomes. Here are four proven strategies to prioritise value: Propose different levels of...
In Focus: Black Friday Negotiation Strategies
28-Nov-2023
Let’s reflect on Black Friday and the shopping extravaganza of the year by focusing on a crucial aspect: Single Issue Negotiations. How do you navigate a negotiation when the other party insists on fixating on just one issue? Unleashing the power of Multi-Issue Negotiations Skilled negotiators transcend the one-dimensional battleground of price...
In Focus: Winning Together
18-Apr-2023
In a world of rapidly changing social norms, Winning Together requires better consultation strategies, better listening and the courage to share when it might involve getting pushback. On 26 July 2022 the National Rugby League celebrated the Women In League round and the progress women are making in rugby.Unfortunately, a lack...
In Focus: Negotiating Roles
22-Jun-2022
Have you ever found yourself feeling confused and vulnerable because you failed to understand the negotiating roles of the other party? When this happens, unskilled negotiators lack an awareness of how the other party is using the negotiation process to influence them. To help overcome this, you might like to consider increasing...
Coping Strategies: Managing difficult Negotiators
26-Oct-2021
Would you like to change the way others negotiate with you? One of the things I learned when I was negotiating was that until I changed myself, I could not change others.” – Nelson Mandela. If you have ever wished you could change the way that other people negotiate with you, then...
Negotiating Teams & Coalitions
23-Jul-2021
What role will negotiation teams and coalitions have in the World Health Organization (WHO) negotiating a global Pandemic Treaty? On May 3, 2021, the WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, "The one recommendation that I believe will do most to strengthen both WHO and global health security is the...
Managing Power Imbalances
21-Feb-2021
Who has the power? According to Statcounter, the real-time web analytics service, in the 12 months from January 2020 to January 2021, Google held 94.45% of the search engine market, and Facebook/Instagram combined, 72.36% of the social media market. In response to such market domination, the Australian Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, said on...
Measuring Negotiation Costs
19-Oct-2020
"I’ve had enough of this situation. It’s been eight months, I can’t even count the thousands of hours of meetings, the days, the evenings, the nights, the weekends, without this advancing”. This quote comes from the Belgian Socialist Party Leader Paul Magenette. It would eventually take 653 days of negotiations for Mr...
Elon Musk: When to negotiate
3-Jul-2020
How do you know when to enter a negotiation? During the COVID-19 outbreak, the State of California Governor Gavin Newsom, and officials from the Alameda County, made the decision to shut down non-essential businesses, which included suspending production at the Tesla car plant from 23 March 2020.In response, the CEO of...
Managing COVID-19 Renegotiations
18-May-2020
How relevant are your existing agreements? COVID-19 changes to work conditions, supply chains, business models and demand curves, have all contributed to a loss of relevance for many agreements. When this loss of relevance leads to dissatisfaction with how well an existing agreement is creating and distributing value, a renegotiation is often...
Problem Solving: Delivering outcomes
19-Jan-2020
According to the World Economic Forum’s 2018 ‘The Future of Jobs Report’, negotiation was ranked in the top ten skills needed by 2020.
What makes this skill so valuable is the resultant ability to strengthen relationships and unlock value. In this issue of Negotiation Insights, we
consider how skilled negotiators...
Taylor Swift: Giving others a voice
25-Sep-2019
When power imbalances occur in negotiations it has the potential to restrict who is able to be involved. So how can those with more influence achieve their
desired outcome, while also strengthening the negotiation positions of those who have less influence?
What others can learn from Taylor Swift.
With over...
Gun Tragedies: We hear you
25-Jul-2019
Can you recall how it felt to be in the company of a good listener?
If you can then you probably experienced feelings of being understood and valued. However, if you are like most people this experience will have been the
exception and not the norm, and this should not...
Negotiating with Agents
24-Mar-2019
When Tom Cruise played the role as a sports agent in the movie Jerry Maguire, he made famous the line “Show me the money”. What he also brought into focus was the use of an agent to negotiate on someone else’s behalf.
In complex and highly emotional negotiations, the pathway...
Changing Perceptions: Shane Warne recalls advice
24-Oct-2018
People perceive things the way they want them to be. So how can information be communicated to get others to consider and understand
the true meaning of what is occurring?
A useful example comes from cricket great Shane Warne, who recounted the advice he received from media mogul Kerry Packer.
Shane...
Problem Solving: Calm in the cockpit
25-Jul-2018
Have you ever been confronted with vast amounts of information that is ambiguous and complex? If you have, then it is also likely that
you experienced high stress levels and feelings of being overwhelmed. In this issue of Negotiation Insights we consider what negotiators can
learn from Captain Richard de...
Avoiding Buyer's Remorse: Knowing when to close
24-Mar-2018
How would you feel if you had just signed a contract only to learn later that you could have achieved a better deal?
Typically, frustration, anger and a sense of loss all come to mind. Unfortunately, for less skilled negotiators, buyer’s remorse is a frequent occurrence.
Common examples include; buying...
Defining Fairness: US German trade negotiations
24-Jan-2018
At a meeting on March 17 2017 the US President Donald Trump advised German Chancellor Angela Merkel “We don’t want victory, we want fairness”. This
was because the US President claimed that millions of Americans are “left behind” by “unfair” trade agreements and that “Negotiators for
Germany have done far better...
The Authentic Negotiator
25-Sep-2017
How would you manage being true to yourself when others ask you to negotiate an outcome you don't agree with?
This was a situation decorated U.S. Airforce officer Harold Sigmoid confronted when he was asked to serve on a military commission. He was put into a situation
where he was...
Identity Needs: Tobacco now a nobody
25-Jul-2017
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to lose the ability to promote a brand or make a purchase that reflects your identity needs?
For Australian tobacco manufacturers and smokers, this became the reality, when in 2014 the Australian government passed legislation requiring all cigarettes
to be sold...
Archive
In Focus: Connecting price to value
In Focus: Black Friday Negotiation Strategies
Coping Strategies: Managing difficult Negotiators
Negotiating Teams & Coalitions
Managing COVID-19 Renegotiations
Problem Solving: Delivering outcomes
Taylor Swift: Giving others a voice
Changing Perceptions: Shane Warne recalls advice
Problem Solving: Calm in the cockpit
Avoiding Buyer's Remorse: Knowing when to close
Defining Fairness: US German trade negotiations
Identity Needs: Tobacco now a nobody
Restoring Relationships: Saying sorry
Price Haggling: Strategies to position value
Negotiation Styles: Managing aggressive behaviours
Traits of Skilled Negotiators: Nelson Mandela
Leadership Without Authority: Reducing domestic violence
The Power of Language: A statement or a question?
Managing Uncertainty: New freeway gets a red light
Influencing Timelines: The brave new world of regulators
Hostage Negotiations: A frontline perspective
Creating Alternatives: Flying fresh milk to China
Setting the Scene: Automotive executives fly into a storm
Finding Common Ground: US Firearm reforms
Timing Concessions: Bangladesh factory tragedy
Verifying Trust: World soccer cup and gulf of Mexico oil spill
Shaping Mindsets: AVIS We try harder
Cultural Differences: SONY Walkman designed for harmony
Difficult Conversations: Thalidomide sufferers seek empathy
Engaging the Enemy: US and Taliban peace talks
Creating Points of Influence: Russell Crowe gets his leading lady
Collaborating to Create Value: Power to the people
Topics
Concession |
Decision Making |
Negotiation |
Negotiation Contingencies |
Negotiation Process |
Negotiation Timing |
Common Ground |
Conflict Resolution |
Communication |
Difficult Conversations |
Influence |
Leadership |
Mindsets |
Negotiation Preparation |
Negotiation Skills |
Persuation |
Setting the Scene |
Building Relationships |
Collaboration |
Mutual Gains |
Modelling Cooperation |
Breaking Deadlocks |
Creating Alternatives |
Power Imbalances |
Single Issue Negotiations |
Culture |
Identity Needs |
Negotiation Framing |
Post Negotiation |
Apologising |